Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Day 244 - He looked around the schoolroom at his coronation posters, his readers and his portrait of the young Queen (pg 320)

Friend and Philosopher by Noel Braun is one of the original 21 that I chose myself from the Warragul library book sale. I was not a fan. All of the elements are there for a great story but for some reason it falls short.

Set in the 1950s, the story is about a young man from Melbourne who has just finished teachers college and heads out to country Victoria to make a difference at a small school. He leaves the life he knows behind and enters a very different world. He lives at the local post office and takes charge of the school which has 10 pupils on a good day.

I was all ready to read about how this young man would set himself up, make his mark and inspire the children. Instead there are many comments about what a great job he’s doing and how pleased he is with himself but little of what it is he is actually doing. The character is very weak and manages, by being led, to get himself into all kinds of trouble and is gone within about a month.

I really don’t feel that the character left a lasting impression on the town, nor that the town left a lasting impression on him. Perhaps it is a little too autobiographical...

37 days remaining, 12 books to go.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Day 238 – Entered the dead posh library where she sat in a grand room surrounded by shelves and shelves of books (pg 116)


Martha’s Journey by Maureen Lee is one of the prize books from the Book Depository. It was wonderful. Nothing amazing or ground breaking but it was a real story you got caught up in and carried away by. I cared about the characters and even shed a tear or two.

The story is set in England during World War One and follows a woman, Martha, and her family who have little but still manage somehow to get through.

Martha’s son Joe is tricked into signing up at only 14 and much of the story tells of her effort, with the help of a kind young woman, to bring back Joe and the others from France.

I really love stories about the underdog, those who are struggling but don’t complain, who do what they need to in order to survive. I love their passion and the love they have for each other. I also love the story of compassion. The woman who is determined to help Martha and her family in any way she can and always wishing she could do more.

In the story Martha resolves to walk from Liverpool to London to talk to the Prime Minister. She is six months pregnant at the time with her sixth child and does get a little help along the way. In fact she is driven most of the way. She's concerned it’s cheating, however manages to justify it. I couldn’t help but think what the equivalent might be for me, how can I cheat a little to reach my goal.. No idea, all I know is I have only 3 days for each book and things are looking grim indeed.

43 days remaining, 13 books to go.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Day 231 – The book you will read tonight (pg 451)


I was concerned when I began An Equal Music by Vikram Seth. In the opening chapters, the descriptions are vivid and striking. When I thought I was going to have to fight my way through this for the entire book, I was worried that it would take me forever. After the first few chapters however, I was in and hooked. It is a large novel, however it was quicker to read (most likely as it was more enjoyable) than a lot of the smaller novels I have read.

The protagonist was interesting, at times I found him to be a strong character, intelligent, caring, generous and interesting. He would then switch to a creepy, oppressive stalker who was despondent and entirely dependant on another for his happiness. It felt like I was reading two stories and I found I enjoyed the love affair he had with music, more than the love affair he had with a woman.

It is a beautifully written story, I had classical music playing in the background as I read much of this and it really added to the atmosphere. As the main character is a violinist, I felt quite guilty about not having played my violin for some time.

I am also feeling quite guilty about the rate I am (or am not) getting through these books. I just don’t know how I am going to do it. Three and a half days to read each book that is left... it is possible, but looking at it from where I am now, it hardly seems probable.

50 days remaining, 14 books to go.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Day 226 – It was a tooled copy of Shakespeare’s Comedies, which Ross had picked up cheap because it had a page missing (pg 67)


One Pair of Feet by Monica Dickens was a book I picked up at a Rotary book sale. When I discovered it was the second in a series I looked for the first in, One Pair of Hands, which I have read. I have since discovered I could’ve read the second without reading the first, and I did enjoy the first more than the second.

Just as I suspected, Nurse Dickens wasn’t much better than Cook General Dickens. However there were once again an abundance of colourful characters for Dickens to watch and study, from other nurses to patients. I am quite certain I would not like to have found myself in hospital in those days, as just about every nurse seemed to be as inefficient as the writer.

One small problem, the last page or pages are missing from this copy. I therefore have no idea if Dickens actually passed her nursing exams and decided to pack it in anyway, or failed and was sent packing. A mystery that will never be solved, unless I happen to come across another copy of the book somewhere and can read the remaining pages.

55 days remaining, 15 books to go.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Day 224 –What a happy day for booksellers (pg 93)


Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Austen and Ben H. Winters, started out to be more promising than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Although I did actually become quite bored with it, and also irritated by the apparent stupidness of the characters.

The Dashwood Sisters (who are, in the original, an intelligent trio) are entirely self absorbed and ignore very important goings on around them. Why doesn’t anyone question the youngest Dashwood, Miss Margaret, who starts hearing and seeing strange things on the island where they live? Why doesn’t Elinor Dashwood tell someone a swordfish has been making small cracks in the glass dome of the underwater city? I can’t stand when things are made obvious to the reader and should be obvious to the characters but are ignored, that is my major issue with this book.

I was however, more willing to believe that sea creatures had mutated and were plotting to eradicate human civilisation, than believe that the Bennet sisters could receive private marshal arts training in China in order to take on armies of the living dead. Perhaps that has a deeper reflection on my psyche... One best not delve too deep.

57 days remaining, 16 books to go.